# Snake Handling Pastor Bitten; Dies-Why? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 31, 2012, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snake-handling-pastor-bitten-dies-why/623656 "2012-05-31T14:40:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2012, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snake-handling-pastor-bitten-dies-why/623656/1 "2012-05-31T14:40:51Z")
I was reading about this guy on Drudge…it seems he had lamented the decline of this Pentecostal custom (though his own father died of a snakebite). At any rate, don’t these people understand that the Gospel writers frequently indulged in hyperbole? Anyway, the guy was planning a “real old fashioned gospel celebration…with speaking gibberish, snake handling, etc.”-no mention of poison drinking. It passes my understanding that people could be so stupid…anyway, is it the custom to repeat this activity (snake handling) till you get a fatal bite? Anyway, I wonder if this event put a damper on the “old fashioned gospel weekend”? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2012, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snake-handling-pastor-bitten-dies-why/623656/2 "2012-05-31T14:42:25Z")
You are asking for rational thought and motivations for a Pentacostal preacher who is into snake-handling? And no, they don’t believe the Gospel writers engaged in anything but writing down the absolute, literal Truth. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2012, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snake-handling-pastor-bitten-dies-why/623656/3 "2012-05-31T14:50:06Z")
That’s just God’s way of saying, “Dude, I love your act! In fact I love it so much I’m giving you a permanent gig up here at The Pearly Gates Resort.” ---
**Author:** ![Spiff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiff/32/9852_2.png) [@Spiff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiff)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2012, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snake-handling-pastor-bitten-dies-why/623656/4 "2012-05-31T15:02:14Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > anyway, is it the custom to repeat this activity (snake handling) till you get a fatal bite? No, the custom is to continue doing this schtick after a fatal bite. Er, wait, I guess not. ---
**Author:** ![Truman\_Burbank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@Truman\_Burbank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Truman_Burbank)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2012, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snake-handling-pastor-bitten-dies-why/623656/5 "2012-05-31T15:52:44Z")
He died of insufficient faith? ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5ac83/32.png) [@Doug\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_K)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2012, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snake-handling-pastor-bitten-dies-why/623656/6 "2012-05-31T16:09:00Z")
He forgot about Matthew 4:5-7. In a nutshell: Don’t deliberately put yourself in harm’s way to show off. He won’t intervene. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2012, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snake-handling-pastor-bitten-dies-why/623656/7 "2012-05-31T16:13:43Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > I was reading about this guy on Drudge..it seems he had lamented the decline of this Pentecostal custom (though his own father died of a snakebite)…? Just trying to keep up the family traditions, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2012, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snake-handling-pastor-bitten-dies-why/623656/8 "2012-05-31T16:15:33Z")
Hopefully he didn’t have any kids. Unto the third generation and all that. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2012, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snake-handling-pastor-bitten-dies-why/623656/9 "2012-05-31T16:23:19Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > I wonder if this event put a damper on the “old fashioned gospel weekend”? Well, everybody _was_ a little rattled. ---
**Author:** ![tim-n-va](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim-n-va/32/3001_2.png) [@tim-n-va](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tim-n-va)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2012, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snake-handling-pastor-bitten-dies-why/623656/10 "2012-05-31T16:34:37Z")
I have just a tiny bit of respect for these people when they don’t go running to the nearest hospital for treatment after a bite. ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2012, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snake-handling-pastor-bitten-dies-why/623656/11 "2012-05-31T16:48:14Z")
He died _because he was handling a fucking poisonous snake_. Why he thought this was a good idea is probably beyond the ken of rational people. > [@Spiff](#): > > No, the custom is to continue doing this schtick after a fatal bite. > > Er, wait, I guess not. Maybe they do, for a little while at least. I don’t think poisonous snake bites will kill you instantly. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2012, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snake-handling-pastor-bitten-dies-why/623656/12 "2012-05-31T17:33:12Z")
Venomous snakes, people. Venomous. No snake is poisonous, any snake can be eaten with no ill effect. Some do carry venom, which is a digestive fluid and not a poison. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2012, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snake-handling-pastor-bitten-dies-why/623656/13 "2012-05-31T17:33:32Z")
Aren’t you supposed to have a brass serpent handy for these kinds of situations? ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2012, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snake-handling-pastor-bitten-dies-why/623656/14 "2012-05-31T17:35:58Z")
Sounds like a candidate for the Darwin Award. Did he have any offspring? ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2012, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snake-handling-pastor-bitten-dies-why/623656/15 "2012-05-31T18:01:49Z")
> [@DrFidelius](#): > > Venomous snakes, people. Venomous. > No snake is poisonous, any snake can be eaten with no ill effect. Some do carry venom, which is a digestive fluid and not a poison. Either way, probably best not to handle them. I went to a restaurant in Arizona once that had rattlesnake meat on the menu. I didn’t try it. Now I keep kosher, and can’t eat it. ---
**Author:** ![freckafree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/freckafree/32/3050_2.png) [@freckafree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/freckafree)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2012, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snake-handling-pastor-bitten-dies-why/623656/16 "2012-05-31T18:13:07Z")
[Here](http://www.dailymail.com/News/201205290190)’s a link to the local newspaper’s coverage of the event. According to the article… “If someone handling a snake had sinned, they could be bitten for not leading a righteous life. A bite also could mean God was using the person as a messenger, to confirm the faith and word is true, Fowler said.” ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2012, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snake-handling-pastor-bitten-dies-why/623656/17 "2012-05-31T18:20:34Z")
Ah. That clarifies…nothing. If you get bit, you are either a sinner or blessed. Gotcha. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2012, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snake-handling-pastor-bitten-dies-why/623656/18 "2012-05-31T18:25:24Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Ah. That clarifies…nothing. > > If you get bit, you are either a sinner or blessed. Gotcha. Either way, you’re screwed. ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2012, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snake-handling-pastor-bitten-dies-why/623656/19 "2012-05-31T18:27:34Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > At any rate, don’t these people understand that the Gospel writers frequently indulged in hyperbole? Heh. Stuff you can test, like handling snakes, healing the sick, casting mountains into the sea — actually, just about EVERYTHING Jesus promised that can be tested — is hyperbole, but stuff you can’t test, like going to heaven after you die, is to be taken literally. Got it. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2012, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snake-handling-pastor-bitten-dies-why/623656/20 "2012-05-31T18:30:18Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > At any rate, don’t these people understand that the Gospel writers frequently indulged in hyperbole? You might almost say they spoke with forked tongue. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snake-handling-pastor-bitten-dies-why/623656.md?page=2)